West Indies forced to make a late change to the playing XI after Gudakesh Motie falls sick ahead of second ENG vs WI Test

The West Indies have been forced to make a change to their playing XI right before the toss for the second Test against England at Trent Bridge, Nottingham on Thursday, July 18. Left-arm spinner Gudakesh Motie reportedly woke up unwell and has been replaced by Kevin Sinclair. The latter has played a solitary Test to date, which was the iconic Gabba Test against Australia earlier this year.

West Indies had initially named an unchanged playing XI for the second Test on the eve of the fixture. Motie was present in the lineup as he was part of the series opener at Lord's which the Men in Maroon lost by an innings and 114 runs.

"Gudakesh Motie has been replaced in the originally announced team by Kevin Sinclair," a CWI spokesperson said. "Motie woke up feeling unwell and is unable to take his place in the side."

The left-arm spinner, who has slowly become a starter for the West Indies across formats, troubled the English batters with the ball. He bowled a sensational delivery to castle England skipper Ben Stokes, and then outwitted Joe Root with yet another brilliant delivery. He was also not out across both innings in the contest, and was the top scorer in the second innings.

Motie also had an excellent 2024 T20 World Cup campaign on home soil recently. He was one of the best bowlers in the group stage, and ended the tournament with eight wickets.

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West Indies have won the toss and have opted to bowl first

Kraigg Brathwaite won the toss for the Men in Maroon and opted to bowl first. The team need to win the remaining matches in the three-match series to complete a comeback and overcome the early deficit.

England have also made a solitary change to their playing XI from the first Test with Mark Wood coming in for the retired James Anderson.

England (Playing XI): Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes(c), Jamie Smith(w), Chris Woakes, Gus Atkinson, Mark Wood, and Shoaib Bashir.

West Indies (Playing XI): Kraigg Brathwaite(c), Mikyle Louis, Kirk McKenzie, Alick Athanaze, Kavem Hodge, Jason Holder, Joshua Da Silva(w), Alzarri Joseph, Kevin Sinclair, Shamar Joseph, and Jayden Seales.